Top U.S. Military Officer Visits Seoul

U.S. Army General Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, stopped briefly in Seoul, South Korea, Sunday for talks with high-ranking Korean and U.S. officers.

Dempsey was greeted by his counterpart, Chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Jung Seung-jo, at the South Korean Defense Ministry.

Dempsey added the stop in Seoul to his previously announced trip to China to gain a greater understanding of the latest rise in tensions on the Korean Peninsula.

South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Gen. Jung Seung-jo (center) shakes hands with his U.S. counterpart, Gen. Martin Dempsey as U.S. Gen. James D. Thurman, the commander of U.S. forces in South Korea looks on in Seoul April 21, 2013. /AP

During his three-hour stopover, the general was expected to meet with the senior U.S. commander in South Korea, General James Thurman.

Thurman and Jung both canceled recent plans to visit Washington because of the recent escalation of threats from North Korea.